Vonage could be forced to shut down if it loses patent dispute with Verizon

[FiberGuy]

This stinks...

I was just on the phone with them a week ago inquiring about a new business line.

Glad I didn't *jump* on the offer!

[regic]

The court victory over Vonage could allow the company to go after other providers of Net-based phone services and seek damages...

Could translates to Will when the company involved is Verizon.  Verizon won't pass up this opportunity to kill off its smaller competitors.

[mandy]

Update:

Federal Judge Claude Hilton on Friday issued a permanent injunction barring Vonage from using technology that Verizon Communications first developed. Trading in Vonage shares was halted midday Friday as news of the injunction began to spread. When trading resumed mid-afternoon, the stock plunged some 25 percent to $3.03, a new all-time low...

Judge Claude Hilton said he issued the injunction after finding that it was necessary to "prevent continued erosion of the client base" of Verizon. The judge also agreed to hear Vonage's argument for a stay and put the injunction on hold for two weeks...

"We are confident Vonage customers will not experience service interruptions or other changes as a result of this litigation" Vonage CEO Mike Snyder said after the injunction was announced...

full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/56487.html

[amy]

I am now looking for a new provider.

We just dumped Verizon and switched to Lingo [size=6px](I'm only posting thiis because they offer $50 referral bonuses)[/quote]

[mandy]

A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued an injunction against Vonage. Although the company is allowed to continue to provide its service to existent customers, it cannot sign up any new ones...

The partial injunction bars Vonage from registering new customers but stops short of forcing the Web-calling service to shut down entirely...

Vonage will immediately appeal the ruling by asking a higher court judge to issue a stay on any injunctive relief for Verizon, Vonage stated.

The effect of the partial injunction would be virtually the same as a full injunction, which could have required Vonage to shut off most of the services to its 2.2 million customers, Vonage attorney Roger Warin told the judge...

full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/kFt3...mers.xhtml

[mandy]

The latest:

A pivotal U.S. Supreme Court ruling designed to make it easier to challenge obvious patents prompted Vonage on Tuesday to ask for a new trial in an ongoing dispute with Verizon.

One day after the high court released a unanimous opinion widely viewed as one of the most sweeping changes to patent law in years, the struggling Internet phone company asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit to put its pending appeals process on hold and send the case back to the lower court for a new trial.

Vonage interim CEO Jeffrey Citron voiced confidence that the decision would have "positive implications" for his company's patent battle with the nation's second-largest phone company.

In a statement, Vonage chief legal officer Sharon O'Leary said: "According to the Supreme Court's ruling, if you patent an orange picker, and then someone else comes along and puts a glove on it to protect the oranges against bruising, you can't patent this new invention as 'novel' as it is just an obvious improvement of the original invention. The Supreme Court's decision thus focuses on keeping only what's truly novel and original protected by patents." ...

full article: http://news.com.com/Vonage+requests+retr...g=nefd.top

[BellisimaJ.]

Screw it--------I'm switching to Comcast. 


Thanks for the updat, Mandy.

[mandy]

No retrial:

An appeals court has denied Vonage's bid for a new trial in its patent spat with Verizon Communications, dashing the VoIP firm's hopes that a recent Supreme Court ruling would pave the way for its case to be reheard. Vonage had asked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to issue an order vacating the jury verdict that found it had violated three Verizon patents and order a new trial. Vonage based its request on Monday's U.S. Supreme Court patent-related ruling in the KSR v. Teleflex case...

full article: http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/KZ2b...loon.xhtml

[mandy]

More patent losses for Vonage:

A jury Tuesday delivered the second punch of a potentially staggering one-two legal blow to Vonage, finding the VoIP provider had willfully infringed upon patents held by telecom giant Sprint Nextel. Jurors awarded Sprint $69.5 million in damages -- the equivalent of an estimated 5 percent of its revenues during the period of infringement. Because the jury found the infringement was intentional, the judge can triple the monetary damages...

The setback renewed speculation about Vonage's cloudy future and raised new questions about whether it can survive on its own over the long term. The recent demise of the VoIP firm SunRocket seems to underscore a shift in the Web-calling market, with consumers embracing the technology in larger numbers but also more likely to buy it from their cable or telecommunications company rather than a pure-play startup...

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/WMc4c5wc...tion.xhtml

[BellisimaJ.]

Glad I switched my service.